Swami Vivekananda (12 January 1863 - 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta in Calcutta, British India, was a Hindu monk, philosopher, and religious reformer who played a central role in introducing Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world. A principal disciple of the mystic Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, institutions that remain active in religious education and humanitarian work. He is widely regarded as a key figure in the revival of Hinduism in 19th-century India and in shaping early Indian nationalism.

Vivekananda rose to international prominence following his address at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago on 11 September 1893, where his opening salutation - “Sisters and brothers of America” - drew a sustained ovation. His lectures during that visit and subsequent tours of the United States and Europe introduced Western audiences to Advaita Vedanta, the non-dualist school of Hindu philosophy. He returned to India in 1897 and founded the Ramakrishna Mission, which combined monastic life with active social service, a synthesis he argued was demanded by the Vedantic principle of the divinity of all beings.

His written and spoken output - collected in The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda - covers philosophy, religion, ethics, and social commentary. He died in Belur Math, Bengal, at age 39.

Vivekananda's legacy is interpreted differently across religious, nationalist, and scholarly contexts. Hindu traditionalists emphasize his role in affirming the philosophical depth and universality of Vedanta against colonial-era dismissals of Indian religion. Indian nationalists, including figures in both secular and Hindu nationalist movements, have claimed him as a forerunner of Indian cultural confidence and self-determination. Scholars of religion examine his work as a modernizing and, in some respects, reformulating synthesis of Hindu thought - one that some argue was shaped by his encounter with Western Unitarianism and Protestant Christianity as much as by classical Vedanta. See: Reformer Viewpoint | See: Nationalist Viewpoint

His relationship to caste is a point of ongoing scholarly discussion. Some interpreters hold that his universalist ethics implicitly challenged caste hierarchy; others note that he did not systematically oppose caste as a social institution. See: Vivekananda and Caste - Debate-viewpoint

There is broad scholarly consensus on the basic biographical facts, the content of his teachings, and his influence on the transmission of Hindu philosophy to the West. Interpretive questions - the degree to which his Vedanta was a faithful transmission of classical Advaita, his relationship to Indian nationalism, and his stance on social reform - remain active areas of debate without settled consensus.

• Universalist Vedantin - Vivekananda presented Vedanta as a universal science of the mind and spirit applicable across cultures and religions, not a sectarian Hindu doctrine. Read more
• Hindu Revivalist - He is read as a defender of Hindu civilization against colonial denigration, restoring Indian philosophical and religious confidence. Read more
• Modernist Synthesizer - Some scholars argue his Vedanta was substantially reshaped by Western philosophical categories and Protestant ideals of religion, making it a modern construction rather than a classical transmission. Read more
• Nationalist Precursor - Both secular nationalists and Hindu nationalist movements have claimed Vivekananda as a foundational influence on Indian national identity. Read more

• Swami Vivekananda - History
• Swami Vivekananda - Debate
• Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
• Vedanta
• Advaita Vedanta
• Ramakrishna Mission
• Parliament of the World's Religions (1893)
• Hinduism
• Indian Nationalism

1. Vivekananda, Swami. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. 9 vols. Advaita Ashrama, 1907-1997.
2. Sharma, Arvind. A Guide to Hindu Spirituality. World Wisdom, 2006.
3. Rambachan, Anantanand. The Limits of Scripture: Vivekananda's Reinterpretation of the Vedas. University of Hawaii Press, 1994.
4. Beckerlegge, Gwilym. The Ramakrishna Mission: The Making of a Modern Hindu Movement. Oxford University Press, 2000.
5. Radice, William, ed. Swami Vivekananda and the Modernization of Hinduism. Oxford University Press, 1998.
6. Basu, Shamita. Religious Revivalism as Nationalist Discourse: Swami Vivekananda and New Hinduism in Nineteenth-Century Bengal. Oxford University Press, 2002.